Abstract
Background: Heart Failure (HF) has become a significant health problem. It can cause anemia by different pathophysiological mechanisms. The presence of anemia is associated with more symptoms and impaired life functional capacity. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study that included 1607 patients who had been admitted at Madinah cardiac center with a diagnosis of HF with reduced left ventricular Ejection Fraction (HFrEF) during the period from March 2011 to January 2019. Anemia is defined when Hemoglobin (Hb) level <13 and <12 g/dl in males and females, respectively. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) criteria of anemia, mild anemia was defined when Hb level is 12.9-11 g/dl in males and 11.9-11 g/dl in females; moderate anemia when Hb level is 10.9-8 g/dl and severe anemia when Hb level is<8 g/dl. Results: Of the total 1607 patients included in the analysis, 67% were males, 51% were hypertensive, 52% were diabetic, and 39% had stage III Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD). About 56% of patients were anemic, 66% of them had mild anemia, 24% had moderate anemia, and 10% had severe anemia. Mean +/- SD of age was 68 +/- 11 years in anemic patients compared to 63 +/- 11 years in non-anemic patients (p<0.001). Anemic patients were significantly females (p<0.001), Hypertensive (HTN) (p<0.001), had Diabetes Mellitus (DM) (p<0.001), or advanced CKD stage (p=0.020). Conclusion: The prevalence of anemia was 56%. Approximately 66% of patients had mild anemia, 24% had moderate anemia, and 10% had severe anemia. Female genders, presence of HTN, DM, or advanced CKD stage were the factors associated with anemia among HFrEF patients.